Written by Bethany
on May 31, 2026

A Gray Whale and Two Humpbacks

A Gray Whale and Two Humpbacks

May 19, 2026 – We did a full circumnavigation of Lopez Island today! We started off our trip by checking out some Steller Sea Lions on Whale Rocks before heading out to search in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Eventually, we got a report of a Gray Whale on the eastern side of Lopez Island, so we headed in that direction. This particular Gray Whale was feeding in the shallow waters along the shoreline, and we were able to get some great looks as it surfaced in water that was only about 30 feet deep! Just around the corner, in Lopez Sound, there were also two humpbacks! This was quite an unusual place for these humpbacks to be! They were also in very shallow water, and we watched as they slowly maneuvered to head back out of the sound. The water was so shallow that we kept seeing the smooth upwelling areas where their tails were pushing up water to the surface as they swam out of sight! We call these spots fluke-prints. We were able to identify these two whales as BCX2201 “Eros” and MMX0474. We ended our trip with another rare sighting of a sea otter, just around the corner from Friday Harbor!

Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram: @AdventuresWithBethany – Instagram: @WesternPrinceWildlife – Facebook: Western Prince Whale Watching Adventures

Written by Bethany
on May 31, 2026

A Gray Whale and Two Humpbacks

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